Election Night
by defying3reason
Summary: Wally tries his best to avoid talking politics with Piper leading up to the 2012 election, but his family won't let him off the hook. Pre-boot universe, future AU where the twins are teenagers.


_A/N: I imagine many people will be turned off by this fic, but I can't say I really care. My fan fiction is one of my most important creative outlets at the moment, and I use my creative outlets to process what's going on in my life. This election was incredibly emotional for me, and writing this helped me process all that. I might add, the characters I use the most aren't exactly a bad fit for this type of discussion either. I think this is all relatively in character for my little pre-boot Flash AU._

_That being said, I was still hesitant to use the actual candidates from the 2012 election as the DCU tends to use fictional characters for their political figures, but, well...fuck it. It's fan fiction and I don't care.  
_

_Enjoy the fic.  
_

* * *

Piper was one of Wally's best friends, and had been for ages. Back when he'd first started running as the Flash instead of Kid Flash, Piper had just begun the equally frightening change of reforming, and they'd transitioned into superherodom together. Wally had a hard time putting into words what that support meant to him, but that was okay because he'd supported Piper too, and Piper already got it. It was the same for him, and they didn't have to talk about it.

Actually though, there were a lot of things he didn't talk about with Piper. Politics was at the top of the list.

When Wally was twenty, he'd put up with Piper's political ranting and actually learned a thing or two from it, especially regarding social politics. He'd learned the value of programs like food stamps and welfare, which his conservative parents had always decried as mooching. He learned that pulling yourself up out of poverty was an ordeal, and that many impoverished people weren't lazy, they were working against a stacked deck. And Wally thought he was a better person for learning all that.

However, he still didn't agree with Piper on a lot of things. He was never going to ditch capitalism for socialism, and frankly, the economic situation in the country was scaring the shit out of him. He still saw the value in social programs, but there were problems with them too, and he thought they needed to be addressed or cut from the nation's bloated budget.

Yeah, Piper had taught him to pay attention to politics, but he'd also taught Wally to think for himself about politics instead of just regurgitating the familiar assumptions he'd been raised with. And Wally had kept some of the familiar assumptions he'd been raised with and turned them into his own independent thoughts.

It drove Piper crazy, because (though he'd never admit it) he rather missed the brief period where Wally had regurgitated _his_ beliefs.

About a month before the election Wally came very close to unfriending Piper on all his social media. Then Linda showed him how to unsubscribe from Piper's posts instead. "After the election, you can put him back on your feed," she explained.

"Thanks hon."

"I'm a little surprised Wally. He's not the only one blowing up your wall with liberal propaganda." Linda had been sharing her own articles and memes regarding reproductive rights, along with nearly every female superhero they knew.

Wally had just pulled up Ollie Queen and was trying to decide if he wanted to unsubscribe from his updates or unfriend him completely. Though Piper's rants were annoying, they were at least well thought out and researched. Ollie's were often misspelled and mostly made up of the words "fatcat", "one percent", and "sheeple".

"Hm? Oh, I don't care about people posting their views, that's fine. But Piper's turning into kind of a bully about it the closer we get to the election. I don't like being guilt tripped every time I log in to post pictures from our barbecues and stuff. I mean you're seeing this stuff. He's saying shit like if we vote Republican this election we don't care about the gay community, and that's just ridiculous. My son is gay. Of course I care about the gay community."

Linda regarded him with some surprise. "You're not…actually going to vote for a Republican this year, are you?"

Wally frowned. "I usually do. I trust them on the economy, and I think that's more important than anything else right now. I mean, without a solid economy everyone's quality of life suffers, doesn't it? And I don't appreciate being made out to be an evil bigot for focusing on the big picture."

Linda pressed her lips together and tapped her fingers against her knee, obvious signs of irritation.

"You don't agree with me."

"Well what kind of economic future can Jai and Piper have as second class citizens? I don't think Piper should be bullying you, but maybe he needs to if you're not hearing him."

"Oh come on, second class citizen is going a bit far. This isn't the Civil Rights movement."

"I think the comparison is appropriate."

"This is about _marriage_. Not everyone wants that. Piper's not even in a relationship right now."

Then his wife surprised him. Linda got up and walked over to the doorway. "I didn't realize we were on such different pages about this. I don't think I can talk to you about this right now."

Wally stared after her in some shock. "Why not?" he asked, voice incredibly small. "Hon, I'll listen to you. What's wrong?"

"I just can't believe you're putting money ahead of our son's human rights. I thought you were better than that." She walked into the kitchen, and Wally let her go cool down.

They had a few more conversations, hard, difficult conversations, that left Wally with a lot to think about. He kept Piper out of his facebook feed for the moment, and avoided political topics as best he could when they met in person (which was difficult; Piper was on fire over the election in a way he hadn't been since the Cartwright campaign). But when he was on his own and no one was judging him, Wally followed a few of the links that Linda and Donna and Dick were posting to facebook, and he tried to form his own opinions.

Election day rolled around, and he voted for the candidates that he thought would do the most good for his state and the country as a whole. Then he went home and hoped he wouldn't have to think about politics again for another four years.

Unfortunately, he came home to a little gathering in his living room.

Linda, Piper, and Iris were sitting on the couch with laptops on the coffee table in front of them. Jai was lying on the floor scrolling on his smartphone, and Irey had draped herself over the armchair, where she was texting.

And of course, election coverage was all over the laptops and on the TV.

"What are you doing here? I thought you were out volunteering." Wally shot an accusing look at Piper.

Piper turned to look at him, eyes a bit bloodshot and surrounded in dark shadow. "I've been up since four. I spent the day making phone calls, driving people to polling stations, and helping people report intimidation and malfunctioning machines. I know the polls are open for another hour, but I'm exhausted. I was told to go home and sleep."

"So why aren't you home sleeping?" Wally asked, hoping he sounded concerned instead of annoyed (which he most definitely was). Piper was the _last_ person he wanted to spend time with on an election day. It was the only way to preserve their friendship.

Piper didn't look hurt, just a bit embarrassed. "I tried. Couldn't sleep, and I'd rather not be alone while I wait for my fate to be decided."

Linda reached over and squeezed his hand. "Don't worry Piper. If the conservatives win we'll just have to fight harder next time."

"Yeah, DOMA's gotta go down before Jai's old enough to get married!" Irey chimed in. "We're supposed to be in each other's weddings, and I want to be an auntie."

Wally frowned. "Wait, wait…having children isn't at stake in this. Romney said he promised to uphold DOMA, not-"

"When he was governor of Massachusetts he blocked gay couples from getting birth certificates for their children by making the process as cumbersome as possible, even for lesbians who had given birth to the children themselves," Linda said. "And he is most definitely not in favor of gays having custody of their children."

"He also considers hospital visitation for couples, even in cases where the partner is dying, a privilege and not a right," Iris added.

Everyone tried incredibly hard not to look at Piper just then, and an awkward silence reigned in the room for the next few minutes as the adults remembered Piper's boyfriend James, who had died alone in Central General two months before the commitment ceremony they'd planned. Wally had used his then public persona to get Piper the "privilege" of seeing the boyfriend that should have been a husband, but it had come just minutes too late to do any good.

"Romney's leading," Jai finally said, breaking the tension. "What the fuck is wrong with the American people? I'm moving to Canada."

"Don't worry about it yet Jai," Piper said in a small voice. "It's too early. I don't really think he'll win, I'm just afraid he will."

Wally finally took off his coat and then went into the kitchen to grab a soda and properly resign himself to watching the election results when he'd rather sit around and think about _anything_ else. Maybe he'd get lucky and the Rogues would try to rob something and he could leave…

He was surprised to see Barry sitting at the kitchen table reading a book. Wally quirked an eyebrow. "Uncle Barry? What are you doing in here?"

Barry looked up with a start, and his face colored. "Oh, um…well I came in here to order pizza for everyone and then I just…decided to take my time."

Wally smiled, grateful for the solidarity. Barry had been a staunch Republican for years. He was probably as uncomfortable as Wally was discussing politics with their friends and family. Hell, it was probably worse for him.

"Aunt Iris is going to start calling you the slowest man alive again if you don't get back in there," Wally teased.

Barry sighed. "I suppose I'd better go and suck it up. I'm just…a little sick of being made out to be some kind of heartless villain for having different priorities from our wives and their friends. Besides, it's not like there was a good choice this time around."

Wally smirked. "Yeah, this was a real douche versus turd sandwich election."

Barry regarded him with some confusion. "I'm missing a pop culture reference, aren't I?"

"Yep."

They grabbed drinks for everyone and then returned to the living room. No one said very much as the results trickled in. Irey occasionally shared an amusing joke that was going around online relating to the election, but that was about it.

Then, just before the pizza came, Linda jumped up and gasped. "Marriage passed in two states so far!"

Irey and Jai cheered, Iris grabbed Linda's laptop to look at the link herself, and Piper surprised them all by not saying anything. He slid down in his seat a little and covered his face with his hands.

"Uncle Piper? Are you okay?" Irey asked.

Piper lowered his hands and smiled weakly. "Yes, of course. Better than I've been in a long time."

The pizza arrived, and for a little while the atmosphere took the shape of a more typical West-Allen family gathering. It was getting late, especially for a school night, but no one attempted to send the twins to bed.

"Akin and Mourdock lost!" Irey was the first to get the news this time, and the small room exploded with noise.

"I've just had my faith in the American people reaffirmed," Iris said, holding a hand to her chest. "Those men and their ilk scare the crap out of me."

"Looks like they lost by quite the margin," Jai said. "Can we consider that a legitimate rape?"

"Oh Jai, really. That wasn't necessary," Linda said, but she was laughing.

"First open lesbian elected to the senate," Piper announced. "Tammy Baldwin."

"Fuck yeah!"

"Jai, language!"

Wally was surprised to find himself enjoying the night. For a foodie, the pizza really helped. Irey and Jai kept lightening the mood whenever things got too heavy by sharing jokes and memes, and no one was preaching at him.

It took him awhile to notice how incredibly uncharacteristically quiet Piper had gotten, but once it penetrated, Wally started worrying about his friend. He was glad Piper had decided to come over and sit it out with them, because it was just heartbreaking to think of him sitting in his apartment, watching the results with nothing but rats and painful memories for company.

"Marriage equality dominates in all four states and Obama projected to win!" Linda yelled, startling Wally out of his reverie. She set her laptop down, strode across the room, and then pulled Jai into a tight hug. "_I love my gay son_!"

"_Ack_! Your gay son wants to breathe!"

Irey started jumping up and down squealing, Iris joined Linda and proclaimed love for her gay great nephew, and Jai told them both they were embarrassing. Barry smiled grimly and sat with his hands politely folded, and Piper let his head fall back against the couch, eyes closed and with an expression of pure, unfiltered relief on his face.

"Now you don't have to move to Canada," Wally joked.

Piper sat up and regarded him with the familiar fire in his eyes. "If Romney had managed to win despite his misogynist views, his bigotry, his xenophobia, and his plan to destroy the middle class, I'd have stayed right here. I love this country, and I'll fight until my dying breath for every American to have the rights they deserve."

"Well said. You can be my best man," Jai said with a grin. "Y'know, once I find myself a groom and we get marriage passed in Kansas or Missouri."

"Or both," Irey said. "I think marriage is coming everywhere."

"Well I certainly hope so," Piper said with a faint smile. "Then again, I never thought I'd see it anywhere in my lifetime. This has certainly been an exhilarating night."

"That's one word for it," Barry muttered darkly. "I don't know how we're going to get out of this recession, but I'm glad about the rest of it. Is that enough for me to get a wedding invitation when you find your groom?"

"Of course it is Uncle Barry. You're so not allowed to ditch my big gay wedding," Jai said.

Linda looked at her watch. "Alright kiddos, I let you stay up to watch the results, but it really is late and you've got school. I think it's time to call it a night."

The twins tried to whine their way out of school the next day, but they didn't find a single adult to champion their cause, and as a result everyone started trickling out. Linda gave Piper an extra tight hug before he left, and soon enough it was just Wally and his wife sitting in their living room.

"Alright, now that we're alone…who did you vote for?" Linda asked.

Wally frowned at her. "You're not supposed to ask people you know. It's rude."

"Yeah, but you're my husband. Now come on. Wally, I've never cared about who you voted for before, but this one was different. This time…I really need to know that you weren't voting against our children's interests."

Wally put an arm around Linda and kissed her cheek, but he regarded her with slight exasperation. "Look, you know I'm no liberal or Democrat, but c'mon. My daughter deserves equal pay and all the lady bits rights, and I plan on being there when my son marries the love of his life."

"So you voted for Obama?" Linda asked.

"No. But I didn't vote for Romney. I wrote in Superman and Batman. I think they could get the country back on track. Bruce is an even better businessman than Romney, and no one's got a better moral compass than Clark."

Linda laughed and nuzzled against him. "Good answer hon."

"Why thank you."

After a moment Wally frowned. "Don't tell Piper."


End file.
